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Bra History
The bra has enjoyed a colourful history. They were allegedly invented by an
American named Otto Titzling (wrong!) and burned by feminists in the 1960’s.
The “over-shoulder-boulder-holder” is a necessary evil in many women’s
lives…but who do we have to blame for this often uncomfortable, but
ever-so-sexy piece of clothing?
2500 BC: Women on the island of Crete begin using bra-like garments to
lift their bare breasts out of their clothing.
450BC – 285AD: Roman and Greek women preferred to play down their
chests, using a band strapped around their breasts to reduce their bust size.
1550’s AD: Catherine de Médicis, wife of King Henri II of France
enforces a ban on "thick waists" at court functions through the
introduction of the steel corset. The corset becomes the main undergarment of
support and restraint for women.
1850’s: US patents are registered for the first known bra-like
garments.
1850’s: Corsets fall out of style for about 10 years.
1860’s: Corsets return to fashion. Corset "training" becomes
the norm - reducing waists to such unhealthy levels that ribs and internal
organs become deformed. This sparks controversy over the health risk of
corseting.
1875: Designer Susan Taylor Converse creates a garment called the
“Union Under-Flannel” from woollen fabric. The garment is different to
previous items as it has no-bones, eyelets, laces or pulleys. The garment is
patented by manufacturers George Frost and George Phelps.
1889: Corset-maker Herminie Cadolle invents a bra-like garment called
"Bien-être" ('Well-Being'.) The garment supports the breasts by the
shoulders rather than squeezing them up from below like a traditional corset.
1893: Marie Tucek patents the "Breast Supporter". This garment
is similar to modern-day bras in that it features a separate pocket for each
breast, shoulder straps, and hook-and-eye closures.
1907: The ever-hip Vogue magazine first uses the term
"brassiere" in its haloed pages. The term comes from the old French
word for 'upper arm'. Prior to this, bra-like devices were known by the French
term "soutien-gorge", which means "throat support" or
"breast support".
1912: The term "brassiere" first appears in the Oxford English
Dictionary.
1912: Garment maker Otto Titzling is said to have develop a bra for buxom
singer Swanhilda Olafsen. Swanhilda lived in the same New York boarding house as
Otto, and needed a supporting garment. She was the inspiration for Otto's
breakthrough design, but Otto neglected to patent his creation, and therefore
lost his chance to be the inventor of the bra.
1913: The first modern bra to be patented was a silk hanky and pink
ribbon affair created by New York socialite Mary Phelps Jacob. Mary had bought a
sheer evening dress to wear to an event, and at the time, the only undergarment
available to her was a corset made with whaleback bones. Mary found that the
bones showed through the sheer fabric and created her DIY alternative.
1914: After a year of sharing her creation with friends, Mary Phelps
Jacob applies for a patent (under the business name "Caresse Crosby")
on November 3 for her "Backless Brassiere" design. Mary’s
"brassiere" was very lightweight, soft, and separated the breasts
naturally. Unlike Marie Tucek's 1893 design, Jacob's garment did not have cups
to support the breasts, but flattened them instead. Jacob markets the
"Backless Brassiere" garment until she tires of the business and sells
the patent to Warner Brothers Corset Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut, for
$1,500. Warner's reportedly made over $15 million over the next 30 years from
the patent.
1914-1918: The outbreak of World War I forces women into the work-force.
Many women begin working in factories and wearing uniforms, making the use of
daily corset wear a problem.
1917: The U.S. War Industries Board requests women to stop buying corsets
to reduce the consumption of metal. Sources say up to 28,000 tons of metal was
conserved through this effort - "enough to build two battleships."
1918 : Corset-makers began making bras designed to flatten rather than
enhance the breasts.
1920’s: Warner introduces a tight, chest-flattening bra, in keeping
with the Flapper styles of the day.
1928: Ida Rosenthal, a Russian immigrant, and her husband William found
Maidenform. Ida is responsible for the creation of bust size categories (cup
sizes) and developed bras for every stage of life - puberty to maturity.
1930’s: The shortened form of the word "brassiere" - the
"bra" becomes popular.
1930’s: Warner produces the first popular all-elastic bra, which shows off a
woman's curves.
1935: Warner's creates the modern cup sizing system (A to D), which is
soon adopted by all bra manufacturers.
1940: Padding was added to bra cups.
1941-1945: Common fabric materials (cotton, rubber, silk and steel) are
in short supply, so manufacturers turn to synthetic fabrics.
1946: The first bikini hits the catwalk introduced in Paris.
1950s: Strapless bras were introduced allowing women to wear
off-the-shoulder dresses and still use a bra.
1959 : Warners and Du Pont produced Lycra which is now used in most bras.
1968: The infamous “bra-burning” occurred, but it didn’t quite
involve busty feminists stripping off their bras to “free” themselves in a
male dominated society. A group of women were protesting the 1968 Miss America
pageant and threw bras, girdles, high heels, make up and hairspray into a
rubbish bin as a symbol of their anger. They were protesting for the liberation
of women in a male dominated society, and saw these objects as restrictive to
their cause. The rubbish bin was set alight – hence the “bra-burning”
reference.
1973: The first no-bounce sports bra was introduced.
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